Windows 10 Mobile Preview Build 10549 Available to Insiders

Microsoft has just released a new Windows 10 Mobile preview build available to all insiders on the Fast Ring: Build 10549. If you’re on the previous build 10536 you won’t be able to upgrade to the latest build due to an issue:

We discovered a bug late last night that caused phones upgrading from Build 10536 to get stuck at a black screen after this new build is installed. – Gabe Aul

To all of you that want the new build you have to use the Windows Device Recovery Tool and downgrade to Windows Phone 8.1, install the Windows Insider app and download the new update. It is a bit of a hassle but this time around Microsoft did not want to wait for a new build to pass internal testing (takes a lot of time).

Instead Microsoft is taking the opportunity to get metrics on the upgrade path from Windows Phone 8.1 to Windows 10 Mobile:

By doing so you are also helping us test the upgrade path that millions of Windows Phone 8.1 customers will take to upgrade to Windows 10 Mobile, so we appreciate the adventurous Insiders who choose to go this route and give us feedback. – Gabe Aul

If you’re already on Windows Phone 8.1 and happen to be a insider (or want to be one) then you’re in luck.

Upgrading issues aside, there are some new improvements that Microsoft highlights:

Improvements to Cortana: Cortana now works for Insiders in Japan and in English for Insiders in Australia and Canada. For more information on new languages in Cortana – see my post here.

Messaging app improvements: The Messaging app now has a text box that can be expanded as you enter text. Previously, the text box had 2-3 lines which made it really hard to see what you were typing. As I mentioned yesterday with Build 10565 for PC, an upcoming build for mobile will include the integrated Skype capabilities for you to preview.

Diverse emoji: With this build, we are adding support for Unicode’s diversity emoji’s. Consistent with Unicode’s vision, we’re excited to offer people all over the world with emoji that reflect more human diversity. We added this capability to the PC with Build 10547 and now we’re extending to mobile. Check out our new diverse emoji and let us know what you think.

An update for Lumia 1020 users: Lumia Camera is no longer uninstalled when you update to Windows Mobile 10, so you can continue using it when you update your phone from Windows Phone 8.1. You should use Lumia Camera in order to take advantage of all of the Lumia 1020’s great camera capabilities. Lumia Camera is not yet available in the Store for Windows 10 devices so you will need to use the Windows Phone Recovery Tool to return to Windows Phone 8.1 in order to get the app back.